A curated community board for freelance illustrators and comic creators

Weekly Roundup – June 23, 2017

Happy June! Welcome again to another Weekly Roundup. In the Weekly Roundup, I provide links and summarized information about the crowdfunded projects, creator opportunities, and resources that have caught my eye over the week. I hope you enjoy!

WARNING! Some content below may feature NSFW content. Links will be marked NSFW! when the content identifies itself as adult material.

As a note: I am not sponsored by any company, group, or individual listed below or elsewhere on this site unless otherwise listed.

News!

I have separated Fan Zines from the Comics, Illustration, and More and Writing and Editing categories! Check it out here!

I’m happy to announce that Paper Cat Press is an affiliate of new webcomic collective Ink Drop Café!

Ink Drop Café is a friendly comic artist collective and community that welcomes a variety of storytellers. We value unique viewpoints, especially those that champion feminine, nonbinary, and minority visions/aesthetics. All mediums, formats, and styles are welcome! We are united by our desire to create engaging stories, foster community growth, and nurture aspiring creators.

Members of Ink Drop Café collective share traffic through a banner system, and we also support one another through social channels and convention networking.

We are open to anyone joining the community via Discord or the Forums — so please do feel free to come by and chat sometime!

Helping Others

Are you a US resident wondering what to do about recent executive orders, gag orders, cabinet confirmations, and the future of your country? Sign up with 5calls.org to find out who to call about specific, pressing issues and what to say. Countable is also an informative resource. Check What the Fuck Just Happened Today? for daily summarized news on the current administration that you can have delivered to your inbox.

If you’re just getting started with protesting and doing something about your government, you can read this free zine What Now?organized and designed by Deandra “Nika” Tan. (I contributed a short comic.)

Take care and take your time. Your work is more important than ever. Thank you for sharing your originality and openness with the world. You bring light to the days of others, and it is so, so appreciated.

Awards

A&U Magazine is accepting submissions of previously unpublished poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama related to HIV/AIDS for their Christopher Hewitt Award. Winners will receive $50 and will be published online, with printed publication negotiable. Entires are due July 15.

Crowdfunded Projects

Love Unspoken: An Illustrated Star-Crossed Lovers Zine is running a Kickstarter to fund its production. Love Unspoken is an art book filled with illustrations of star-crossed lovers from myth and history, featuring 24 artist contributors. Tier options include digital and physical copies of the book, stickers, tote bags, enamel pins, prints, and commissions. The Kickstarter ends on June 25.

Niobe: She Is Life Hardcover and She Is Death #1 Comic Book is running a Kickstarter to fund its production. Niobe: She Is Life is “a coming of age Beauty and the Beast love story threaded with murder and mystery that leads to all out war.” She Is Death is the sequel that describes how Niobe transforms from heartbroken teen to fierce warrior woman. Tier options include digital and physical copies of the book, signed or unsigned, digital wallpapers, prints, chokers, a backpack, original artwork, and more. The Kickstarter ends on June 25.

NSFW!Dirty Diamonds #8: Sex (an all-girls comic anthology) is running a Kickstarter to fund the publication of its 8th book, the newest volume in the Dirty Diamonds anthology comic series. Over 65 women creators have contributed to this volume with semi-autobiographical exploration of what sex means to them. Although the contents of the zine are adult in nature, there is no explicit or smutty content featured. Tier options include digital and physical copies of the book, digital copies of past Dirty Diamonds anthologies, a temporary tattoo, a bookplate, enamel pins, and more. The Kickstarter ends on June 30.

Fate Book One: Land and Sea is running a Kickstarter to fund its printing. The first three full-color comic chapters of Fate, an all-ages fantasy story, will be printed into the 126-page book to be printed as a result of the Kickstarter’s funding. Additional stretch goals will fund expanded printing quantities, the donation of copies to libraries and schools, and creation of a new short story. Tier options include digital and physical copies of the book, digital copies of Anthea’s other works, bookmarks, a map of Fate’s world, prints, original artwork, and a comic cameo. The Kickstarter ends on July 1.

The Peter Pan Manga – Volume 3 is running a Kickstarter to fund its printing and shipping. Elaine Tipping, creator of the manga adaptation, illustrates scenes from the classic Peter Pan more faithfully than the renditions widely seen in popular culture. This third volume will collect chapters 7-10 of the webcomic series, with 134 pages of comics and additional bonus content. Tier options include digital and physical copies of the comic, digital copies of previous volumes, a tote bag, spiral notebooks, keychains, a digital illustration, a marker-colored commission, and more. The Kickstarter ends on July 3.

Warmer: A Collection of Poetry Comics About Climate Change is running a Kickstarter to fund its printing and shipping. Warmer will contain 112 pages of 16 full-color comic stories. Tier options include digital and physical copies of the book, other digital mini comics by contributors, prints, and original and/or custom artwork. The Kickstarter ends on July 5.

The SpiderForest Webcomic Anthology is hosting a Kickstarter to collect funds for its book of 20 standalone comics created by the collective’s members. The book will have 132+ pages of black and white and color comics that incorporate spiders or forests. Tier options include digital and physical copies of the book, the Spider Forest coloring book from a past Kickstarter, and enamel pin, prints, commissions, and a comic cameo. The Kickstarter ends on July 14.

Speculative Relationships: Volume 3 is hosting a Kickstarter to fund its production. The third and final volume of the Speculative Relationships series will feature 180 pages of comics involving romance and the outermost limits of speculative fiction. Tier options include digital and physical copies of the book, digital copies of all three volumes, a digital behind-the-scenes book, and prints. The Kickstarter ends on July 19.

Creative Opportunities

General

The Comic Tea Party is a weekly “book club” for webcomics. Participate in the Discord chat weekly on Thursdays at 5pm to 7pm PST.Sign your comic up for a chance to have it read and discussed in the group!

Are you a fan of online community events, but struggle to “arrive” on time due to scheduling conflicts? Fill out this survey to share your availability and help event organizers develop a schedule that works best for you!

Animation

Here is a survey for Women Professionals in Animation. If you work in animation and identify as a woman, please submit your anonymous information to this survey to inform and assist current and future animators.

You can find a directory of currently open animation jobs at animatedjobs.com! Companies like DHX Media, Disney, Nickelodeon, and others have a number of open full-time, part-time, freelance, and remote positions available, including those in social media, editing, and teaching.

Taking the Lane #15: True Trans Bike Rebel is accepting submissions of short fiction (500-2500 words), illustrations, and photography until July 1. Payment to be split among contributors after the zine is crowdfunded.

MediBang is accepting submissions for their Concept Comic Project until July 31. The grand prize winner will receive 300,000 yen, novelization, and a chance to be adapted into a movie on Amazon Prime Video.

The Silhouette is accepting comic submissions to their anthology until July 31. Contributors will be paid $10 per page and, after successful Kickstarter funding, will receive 10 complimentary copies of the anthology, as well as the opportunity to buy books at-cost.

Comic Book Hour is hosting a Power Ups: Vilified anthology. Teams of 2-4 people work together on a 4-page comic. Once completed, the submissions will be collected into an anthology which participants must print themselves and sell at an established rate, should they choose to sell copies. Submissions are due September 17.

Shousetsu Bang Bang is accepting submissions for its upcoming artist special issue. Final submissions are due September 19, but anything with text (like comics) needs to be submitted by September 5.

The Silent Manga Audition just announced the theme for its next competition: “fair play”! Submit by September 30 to be considered.

Black Girls Create is looking for submissions of written, drawn, filmed, photographed, or any other expression of creative work from black creators showing what their time at Hogwarts would’ve looked like! They are also open to feature suggestions and contributors.

The Brave Some is seeking submissions of short stories, prose, essays, reviews, and visual art by black and/or brown women and femmes.

DC Comics has a number of open positions in Burbank, California, including some for Assistant Editors in middle grade and other licensed comics, a digital production artist, a creative director, and more!

Designers

I created a document where people who have skills in web design and are willing and able to assist comic creators in creating their own websites can list themselves. Feel free to add your name, examples, and prices!

Blank Party is hosting a Chrono Party zine celebrating Chrono Trigger. Submissions of comics and illustration will be accepted until July 15. All selected contributors will receive a hard copy book, and all submissions will be featured on the website.

The Overwatch Family Zine is accepting submissions until August 15. Profits will be split among the artists, with 5% of profits going to the zine organizer and shipper.

Mentorships & Fellowships

The Representation Matters Mentorship Program is accepting applications on a rolling basis from self-identified people of color interested in the publishing industry. Mentorships will last 6 months, with a minimum of one session every two months.

The DC Zine Fest is offering eight $50 scholarships to marginalized members of the zine scene.

The Liberty Foundation will be accepting applications later this year for fellowships that provide a $60,000 stipend and coaching support for creators. Sign up for their mailing list to hear the latest news.

Typesetting

Voice Acting

Writing and Editing

Inkshares and Nerdist are hosting a contest for science fiction novels. Describe your work on Inkshares and collect preorders for your work until June 26. The top three books with the most preorders, and possibly others, will be published by Inkshares, and one or more will receive opportunities from Nerdist to develop their work into other media properties.

Taking the Lane #15: True Trans Bike Rebel is accepting submissions of short fiction (500-2500 words), illustrations, and photography until July 1. Payment to be split among contributors after the zine is crowdfunded.

Swamp Bitch Books is seeking submissions of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror fiction from LGBTQ+ writers of color for an upcoming anthology project. Submit stories of 8000 words or less by July 30 to be considered. Check submissions guidelines and payment details here.

Fiyah Lit Mag is accepting submissions of fiction and poetry from members of the African diaspora for their 4th issue, themed ROOTS, until July 31.

Nine Star Press is seeking submissions for their LGBTQIA+ Fairy Tale Anthology project until July 31.

Lethe Press has open submissions and is seeking submissions for A Midas Clutch: Tales of Opulent Horror for horror stories featuring the wealthy, due in January 2018. Queer speculative fiction is preferred. Stories featuring negative perspectives of LGBTQ+ individuals will be rejected.

Argot Magazine is seeking written and illustrated submissions about queer and marginalized experiences. Click here for more on their mission as well as their pay rates.

Asymptote is accepting submissions of literary fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry from the seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) directly affected by Trump’s travel ban. Contributors will be paid $200 per feature. Submissions are also being accepted on a rolling basis for other contributors and submission styles.

The Awl is accepting pitches of 1500-2000 word articles. Ideas should be informative, investigative, and exciting.

Black Girls Create is looking for submissions of written, drawn, filmed, photographed, or any other expression of creative work from black creators showing what their time at Hogwarts would’ve looked like! They are also open to feature suggestions and contributors.

The Brave Some is seeking submissions of short stories, prose, essays, reviews, and visual art by creators who identify as black and/or brown women and femmes.

Online monthly magazine The Dark is accepting submissions from 2000 to 6000 words in length. Encouraged genres include horror and dark fantasy, but graphic, violent horror is not desired. Payment is $0.03/word for up to 6000 words. Republishing payment is $0.01/word.

DC Comics has a number of open positions in Burbank, California, including some for Assistant Editors in middle grade and other licensed comics, a digital production artist, a creative director, and more!

Hello Giggles is accepting pitches for stories about mother-daughter relationships.

Random House’s digital-only imprint Hydra has open submissions for completed works in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror categories. There is no word count limit for submissions, but full-length works of 40,000 words or more are preferred. Accepted writers will be assigned to a Random House editor, marketer, and publicist. Response time is usually 2-4 weeks.

On She Goes is seeking pitches and ideas about women of color and traveling. Tips, insight, and anecdotes are welcome.

Pink Narcissus Press is seeking complete novel and novella manuscripts of 50,000 words or more. They are interested in well-written but non-mainstream speculative fiction with strong elements of sci-fi or fantasy.

pnk prl is accepting submissions of blackout/erasure poetry from LGBTQ+ writers until further notice. Please source the origin of the original source.

The Quillis accepting submissions of stories, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Check here for their submission guidelines and pay scale.

Sapphire Books is accepting submissions of lesbian fiction, particularly within the genres of romance, mystery/intrigue with romantic elements, and young adult.

Female and genderqueer individuals between 13 and 18 in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States are invited to submit up to ten pages of comics to Miss Anthology’s comics anthology. Submit your work by July 17 for consideration.

I created a document where people who have skills in web design and are willing and able to assist comic creators in creating their own websites can list themselves. Feel free to add your name, examples, and prices!

That’s it for this week! Look out for another post next week with these categories and possibly more. Is there something you’d like to see more of? Something you know about but don’t see here? Let me know!

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